Adaptations in Art Handling

Sara Lau

The impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the arts has been welldocumented worldwide. While galleries, museums and artists have had their fair share of coverage, the pandemic’s consequences for art handling companies have been less reported. With the shutdown of international travel and the cancellation of major events such as international exhibitions and art fairs, these companies have experienced significantly reduced revenue streams. The International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporters (ICEFAT), which referred to the industry as the “unseen engine room of the art world”, released a three-part report in July 2020 detailing the extent of the pandemic’s impact, sharing insights from their members about the decrease in business, the restrictions and increased costs of air freight and the shifts in art handling protocols and systems.

In Southeast Asia, there have been similar consequences for art handling companies. Several countries in the region have been badly hit by the pandemic and are struggling to recover. Harry Wibowo, Managing Director of Bowo Logistics, says that they have had to rely on local art moving assignments in order to sustain their business, although the income from this is not enough to cover their monthly office overheads. The company relied heavily on art fairs as their main source of income, an unsurprising fact given that the country was steadily growing as a regional art centre prior to the pandemic.

While the situation in Singapore has been more stable, art handlers here have been affected as well. Vincent Ng, Business Development Manager at Malca-Amit, reports that art handling requests have declined by approximately 20 to 30 percent for their company. “Collectors are also much more cautious in purchasing art and hence there has been a decrease in shipment frequencies, which has had a significant

impact,” he shares through an email. “To sustain the business, we keep manpower and operations lean. There has also been a significant increase in requests for private viewings due to government restrictions, which is easy for us to manage.” He also indicates that the company is focusing its energies on other specialised logistics services that they provide, such as the movement of precious gems and jewelry.

For Ida Ng, CEO of Helu-Trans, the company’s core business has not changed at all. “A large part of our income comes from art storage. But of course, we have also been affected somewhat as events such as art fairs were also significant for our income stream,” she says. Still, the company saw a similar decline in requests for art handling services, and thus channeled their efforts elsewhere. She adds, “We had to divert our resources, so we decided to invest in our staff.” Ng notes that Helutrans has been actively conducting training courses, providing crossdepartment training sessions to familiarise all staff members with the various roles in the organisation, a move that she believes will help the company in the long run. Bowo Logistics and Malca-Amit have also done their best to maintain benefits for their staff, although this has been tougher for the former given the unstable situation in Indonesia.

The onset of the pandemic may have slowed the world down, but it does not entirely remove prevailing concerns that the art handling industry was already dealing with prior to Covid-19. One such topic is the handling of artworks made with unconventional materials and presented through less common mediums. At Malca-Amit, Ng believes that the company needs to be tech-savvy, especially when reaching out to younger artists who are producing larger multimedia works and installations, and that staff need to be trained in electronics in order to handle their works well. Bowo notes that his company often defers to the galleries and their instructions, and that they are more cautious with these unconventional artworks to avoid any mistakes. Ida notes that if they come across any uncertainties with handling an artwork , they turn to their extensive network for advice. Over at Helu-trans, Ng says, "We have different stations in China and Hong Kong, so our first step is to reach out to them to see if they have experience dealing with such artworks". The organisation is also part of ICEFAT, which is another avenue to seek advice.

Sustainability is also a hot-button topic. Art handling companies have a sizeable carbon footprint with their extensive use of bubble wrap and wooden crates, in addition to the constant air travel and shipments. Ng notes that while Helu-trans is concerned about the environmental impact of their work, little has changed in the industry despite n innovations such as reusable crates. “We're constantly struggling between being environmentally safe and at the same time being cost effective for the client,” she says. “We have considered alternative ways to support the climate cause, like donating to specific environmental organisations.”

At Malca-Amit, Ng expresses a similar sentiment. Adding that size limitations and freight charges are what hold most clients back when using such reusable crates. He also explains that they endeavour to use recycled plastics and encourage clients to re-use crates, citing lower costs as an incentive for them. This conversation on sustainability does not extend to Bowo Logistics, where Bowo explains that their clients expect the use of new materials and crates. Given that art handler companies are service providers and have to answer to the whims of the larger art market, the sustainability issue will have to be addressed by the community at large.

As the world adapts and moves towards the "new normal", art handlers are recovering alongside the rest of the art industry, with shifting relationships and new methods of organisation. Ng at Helu-trans cites the recent S.E.A Focus organised by STPI − Creative Workshop & Gallery as an example of changes within the arts industry, with art fair organisers taking on more curatorial roles and art handlers becoming more involved through transportations and logistics, complete with remote viewings of art works and fair booths. “I think the dynamics between art movers and galleries will change, especially with our increased responsibilities in managing installations,” she says. “More things are left in our hands, now that galleries cannot be physically present at international art fairs, and I think that there will be interesting changes for art handling moving forward.”